A Quebec man who was looking after a lion for friends is now facing charges for keeping a lion without a permit.
The charges come after "Boomer," a six-month-old cat, disappeared from his pen on a native reserve near Maniwaki -- about two hours north of Ottawa in the western part of Quebec, in late April.
The lion was caught by police officers two days after its escape when a woman reported seeing it walking along Highway 105, and an officer responded to the call.
Stanley Dumont Whiteduck, who reportedly brought the lion into the community two days before it escaped, has been charged with keeping a lion in captivity without a permit.
Before the lion came into Whiteduck's care, it had been living with a family since it was three days old in Cobden, a small community in the Township of Whitewater Region of the Ottawa Valley.
When a child in the family reportedly spoke about the lion in school, officials with Child Protective Services were alerted. CTV Ottawa learned the family was told by officials that keeping the lion was unacceptable and posed a danger to the children.
That's when Whiteduck, a friend in Maniwaki, was contacted and was asked to "lion sit" for the family until they could find an appropriate home for "Boomer."
Whiteduck now has until Oct. 1 to enter a plea in relation to the charge. He also faces a fine of $638.
"Boomer" is now staying at the Granby Zoo, near Montreal.
